What Could Have Been
by Blackrose Malfoy
Summary: When Andromeda unexpectedly sees Narcissa in Diagon Alley she can't help but remember what used to be and wonder what could have been. One-shot.


**Author's Note: Hello everyone! The summary pretty much says it all about this one-shot so this is going to be the shortest author's note in history (okay, maybe not that short but still pretty short). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to review once you've finished reading. I love reviews! :)**

**Happy reading everybody!**

**************Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything in the Harry Potter universe belongs to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and Warner Bros (and maybe some others I forgot to mention). If this information is not correct I apologize. (I looked it up to make sure this disclaimer was accurate and that's what I found.) I make no money from this. This (writing fanfiction for the best book series of all time!) is just something I do for fun. (So please don't sue me!)**

What Could Have Been

~Summer 1979~

Andromeda Tonks briskly made her way through Diagon Alley with her only daughter, Nymphadora, at her side. The little girl made frequent stops to point out items that had caught her attention in the nearby shop windows. Nymphadora had been chattering on excitedly about anything and everything since the moment they'd arrived. She was positively fascinated by every aspect of wizarding life and it was for that reason that Andromeda sincerely hoped the girl had magical blood. Considering Andromeda's pureblood lineage she guessed that outcome was rather likely but even with that you can still never be sure. Of course it didn't matter to her what her daughter would turn out to be, she herself had married a muggleborn after all so obviously blood purity meant nothing to her. But still, she knew the little girl would be ecstatic if she were able to call herself a witch so naturally that was what she wished for her.

Suddenly Andromeda was pulled from her thoughts by the sensation of her little girl tugging at her arm excitedly. "Mummy, she looks like you!" Nymphadora exclaimed.

She glanced around briefly but when she didn't see anyone that her daughter could have possibly been talking about she decided that it must have merely been Nymphadora's imagination. "Who does, dear?" she asked, simply to placate the little girl.

"Her!" she answered, more forcefully this time, "Over there! She's right inside that shop window." To make sure that there was absolutely no way her mother could miss the woman she was talking about she gestured wildly toward the window.

"Nymphadora, it is impolite to point," her mother chastised. Honestly, she knew the little girl didn't know any better but her daughter's manners were simply deplorable. Yet still, once again to placate her child, she looked in the direction which she was pointing.

When her eyes landed on the person who was the fixture of her daughter's attention her eyes widened. She couldn't help but stare, no matter how impolite such an action was. She found herself looking at a woman who did indeed look very much like her, a woman she had not seen in a very long time. She was looking at Narcissa Black.

No, she supposed it must be Malfoy now instead of Black. Last she'd heard her sister was planning to marry Lucius Malfoy a few years ago. Naturally the Black family would have approved of such a union so Andromeda was sure that Narcissa must have followed through with the marriage. Cissy had always strived for her family's approval and was positively devastated whenever she did not receive it.

Before Andromeda could convince herself to look away Narcissa looked up and locked eyes with her; her sister's eyes widened as well, obviously shocked by what she saw. Andromeda watched as a look of recognition and then a look of fondness crept its way into her sister's gaze. She could tell that in that moment Narcissa was recalling all the pleasant memories they had shared together as children. She was as well. It seemed to be a lifetime ago but not that long ago all at the same time.

Andromeda remembered the way that she would chase Cissy, as she had called her back then, through the fields of their family's summer home. She remembered the way that the younger girl would squeal with joy when she finally caught her and proceeded to tickle her relentlessly. She remembered the way she used to weave flowers into Cissy's hair and play dress up for hours just to see her smile. She did those things because she wanted to, not because she felt obligated to like the rest of her family did. She loved her sister then and she loved her still; no matter what happened between them she always would.

Quickly her memories moved on to later years, before she'd fallen in love with Ted. Narcissa had been absolutely thrilled when Andromeda had joined her for her first Hogsmeade weekend. The younger girl animatedly told her every painstaking detail about how her year at Hogwarts had been up to that point. Andromeda had smiled and listened intently to every word. Back then Cissy was so much like she knew Nymphadora surely would grow up to be. She was so carefree yet strong and serious when she needed to be. Judging by the appearance she saw in front of her now Andromeda knew, without a doubt, that the carefree side had left her long ago.

She wondered when that had happened. She wondered exactly what had made that happen. But, more importantly, she wondered if she could have prevented it if she had stayed.

Slowly she felt herself begin to hope that maybe Cissy would exit the shop. Maybe she would make her way out into the street and come speak to the sister that she hadn't seen in so many years. Maybe she would try to rekindle what used to be and what could have been. Maybe, just maybe, their history would mean enough to her that she would look past her sister's disownment and see her as a sister once again. Sadly, that hope died just as quickly as it had come.

She watched the look of familiarity and fondness that had come to Narcissa's face moments ago fade into a look of disgust and disdain; clearly there was no room in her sister's heart for a blood traitor, no matter who that blood traitor used to be.

Andromeda inwardly wilted as she watched her sister turn away from the window and never look back. She felt a deep sadness form in her heart, one that had not been there in quite some time; she wanted so badly for things to be different. No matter how much she hid it she did miss her family, some members of it anyway. Cissy had always been her favorite, and losing her had hurt the most. However, Andromeda now knew that no matter what she did and no matter what would happen there was nothing that would be able to repair the past. All it had taken was one moment of locking eyes with someone she had once known so well to undeniably see that truth.

For a moment she thought that the unwanted tears that were forming would spill from her eyes in a show of mourning what she'd lost, but when she heard her beautiful daughter's voice ring out again she felt the sadness begin to melt away.

"Mummy, she looked so much like you! She could have been your sister," the girl said, oblivious to the truth in her statement.

Andromeda smiled sadly at her daughter's words as she gripped the little girl's hand a little tighter. "Yes, she could have been."

Nymphadora didn't understand the full meaning of her mother's words, not yet anyway, but in time she would. Some day she would know that Andromeda Tonks had once been Andromeda Black. But that was another conversation for another day.

So with that Andromeda Tonks turned away and never looked back. She knew now that it was too late for her and Cissy to be anything other than strangers. It was too late for what could have been.


End file.
